Managing finances as a couple

moneymoner

From my experience a joint personal account is a bad idea IMO. Both of you will have different spending habits which can lead to quarreling when the bills and DD's are due.

Open a jount foundation account for paying bills and DD's which you both contribute an agreed monthly deposit. Keep seperate personal accounts and create a monthly budget of all income and expediture.

Setup a monthly SO in each of your personal accounts to pay into the foundation account which should be enough for paying bills and DD's.

I can't recommend any particular bank as none of them really offer any advantages over the other that would greatly improve your finances or relationship. But that all depends on how much you can offer the bank.

JIL

We started off with our own accounts but soon went into a joint account. 
I do the budget each month, I pay off the credit card in full, this could include car insurance, days out, petrol, clothing anything really. Then all the direct debits are covered, an amount is left in the current account in case we need cash, the remainder goes into savings.
It works for us. 

ZeroSum

The most bizarre one I heard was a woman wondering whether to still go on holiday alone as her husband of many years hasn't saved enough to pay his half. I just thought .. really?

Certainly not my idea of married life but if it works for them who am I to criticise.

It might have been the case, that's she's being frugal whilst he's just been p!ssing it away. Kind of 2 steps forward, then 1 step back. Then she is thinking about scrapping the annual holiday to hammer home the point of his irresponsibility.

Rob5342

kaMelo said:

Ten years further down the line and you're now married with two kids, I don't see any other logical solution than one big family pot. At that stage in life it shouldn't matter who puts in in there, only that there is enough going in it. I'll never understand couples in that scenario still talking about "my money" rather than "our money" The most bizarre one I heard was a woman wondering whether to still go on holiday alone as her husband of many years hasn't saved enough to pay his half. I just thought .. really?
Certainly not my idea of married life but if it works for them who am I to criticise.

That's the way we see it too, our house is in joint names and we do everything else jointly do. We're both responsible with our spending and buy things sometimes when we want them, but make sure the other is able to too.

It does rely on you having the right approach to money, it could be very unfair if one of you keeps spending and there isn't enough left for the other to get the shoes they need.

Ergates

kaMelo said:

I'll never understand couples in that scenario still talking about "my money" rather than "our money" .

It massively simplifies discretionary spending. 

There are bills/mortgages/food/etc that *have* to be spent and which are joint, and there are joint discretionary spends (holidays etc).   But there is also personal discretionary spending - e.g. I want to buy something for my bike, my partner wants a CD/Record, whatever.  If you put everything into the joint account then you have to think about keeping things fair or it can lead to arguments (one partner is spending masses more than the other on gizmos or whatever) and/or having to ask for permission before spending.

If you both keep back a portion of your income for personal use then you don't have to worry about that - you either have enough money in your personal account for whatever it is, or you don't.

Rob5342

Ergates said:

kaMelo said:

I'll never understand couples in that scenario still talking about "my money" rather than "our money" .

It massively simplifies discretionary spending. 

There are bills/mortgages/food/etc that *have* to be spent and which are joint, and there are joint discretionary spends (holidays etc).   But there is also personal discretionary spending - e.g. I want to buy something for my bike, my partner wants a CD/Record, whatever.  If you put everything into the joint account then you have to think about keeping things fair or it can lead to arguments (one partner is spending masses more than the other on gizmos or whatever) and/or having to ask for permission before spending.

If you both keep back a portion of your income for personal use then you don't have to worry about that - you either have enough money in your personal account for whatever it is, or you don't.

It all depends on how you see it and how you handle money. Some people want a fixed amount they know is reseved for themselves, others are happy for their partner to spend when they want something knowing they'll be able to spend when they want something too. A lot depends on your circumtances too, a young couple that has just moved in together where they both go out with their friends every weekend is going to be completely different to a married couple with children where they do a lot together and spend a large proportion on their children. 

Just find something that works for you and make sure you change it when it doesn't.

enthusiasticsaver

Given you aren’t married and are relatively new to living together I would suggest joint household account (bills split proportionally with net income) but keep separate current accounts and savings. 

sebtomato

emilyblowers98 said:

Hi everyone!

Me and my partner are hoping to buy a house together within the next year, we don’t live together yet and I was wondering what the best way would be to manage our finances as a couple.

Is a joint current account and savings account the best way to go? What should we pay for together and separately? What is the best way to split expenses (50/50 or by % of our salaries?) and can anyone recommend any bank accounts?

Any tips or advice would be helpful!!!

Thanks, E

Splitting shared expenses by % of salaries seems to be the fair way to go. If your incomes are quite different, having some fixed amounts doesn't make sense.

If the energy bill is £1,000 for instance (or £2,000 by the time you read this), splitting 50/50 is not fair, if one person only earns £1,000 per month and the other £4,000.

I would set a joint account, and have each person pay to that account each month. Anything common should be paid from that account, such as property-related bills, groceries etc. Any personal expenses should not.

moving_forward

enthusiasticsaver said:

Given you aren’t married and are relatively new to living together I would suggest joint household account (bills split proportionally with net income) but keep separate current accounts and savings. 

I agree with this approach. Except not just because your not married but because your new to living together. You may five ten years down the line decide to combine finances but not get married. 
We did this when we first met and then moved to sharing income. We only got a joint account when we got married because we were gifted a cheque in joint names . I am the female in a female and male relationship and happen to be the higher earner and had my house with a half paid off mortgage before we met. He didn't come on the mortgage until we moved but still paid towards it.
We now just have equal "pocket money" each month and everything else goes in the pot. One day I may decide to cut my hours and earn less than him or he may get promoted (here's hoping he deserves it) and get a higher salary. We don't obsess over who brings more in as we are a team but until you have lived with someone a few years you don't know if you are.